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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27227881">His Reason</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik'>aj_linguistik</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October Prompt Challenge [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Akame ga Kill! (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crushes, F/M, Heart-to-Heart, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot, Pining, smiling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:09:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27227881</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tatsumi wasn't expecting to learn that some assassins could be relatively carefree, joking people. So he's curious- why do some of them act so carefree? He gets a chance to ask Lubbock about it, and the answer he gets isn't quite what he expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lubbock/Najenda (Akame ga Kill!)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October Prompt Challenge [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>His Reason</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts">disasterbiKirito</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: Day 27's prompt was smiling. Babe really wanted to include an Akame ga Kill prompt, and he was unsure because I finished watching it for the first time *less than a month ago*. Ahahaha. I said I'd be up for the challenge. This one-shot was a bt difficult to write because of how new these characters are to me, but I managed to hit my word count goal (yay!) and I do hope that his prompt for Lubbock/Najenda turned into a decent first stab at portraying these characters!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Each of the members of Night Raid had a rather colorful personality. From the start, Tatsumi had been admittedly surprised to see that a bunch of assassins could be as light-hearted and fun to be around as they were. It went to show that no one should be judged by their occupation anymore than they should be judged by their looks. But of this group, two struck him as considerably less serious than the rest in their mannerisms: Leone and Lubbock. He watched them as they joked around and played around with one another and tried to put the pieces together. What made people who had been stricken by the pain of an unjust nation so carefree?</p><p>            Leone, he came to understand, deflected her own struggles in order to lift the spirits of her comrades. She was easy to figure out in this regard: she wanted her team to be motivated and feel her strength. Her strength, after all, was her pride. That strength permeated all of her being, extending from her physical brawn to her heart of steel, which could allow her to turn and smile and crack a joke when the team needed it most. This understanding came from careful watching and closer interactions with her.</p><p>            On the other hand, Tatsumi felt like Lubbock was a locked box without a key. He couldn’t figure him out. He was just as likely to need Leone’s positive attitude as any of the others. His fooling around couldn’t be mistaken so easily for optimism. Tatsumi resigned himself to not being able to solve the puzzle without directly asking him. He decided he’d do his best to ask without sounding like he was judgmental about it at his earliest convenience. He searched for an opportunity, and one finally arose in the form of forced alone time with the man. Najenda selected the pair to go and make contact with a revolution spy, so they would have the entire trip there (and the entire trip back) to discuss whatever they liked.</p><p>            The streets they chose to take were low-traffic, which made it the perfect opportunity for Tatsumi to ask him anything. They had a few people walking around on either side of them, but those people weren’t close enough to be within earshot. He could have a discrete conversation without worrying about prying ears. This was definitely intentional, since they didn’t want to have anyone suspicious catch on to their activity. It was fair game, and Tatsumi was up to bat. He just had to hope he wouldn’t strike out in the time it took them to make the journey there and back.</p><p>            For the entire trip there, Lubbock was focused far more on the mission, making sure Tatsumi was up to speed on the protocol for such a mission. He filled him in with lots of useful information, but it was hard to get a word in edgewise: about the mission or any other conversation points, for that matter. They made it all the way to their rendezvous point, met up with the spy, and collected the information they needed all before Tatsumi even got a chance to start a conversation that wasn’t about the mission at hand. They were already turning back before he knew it.</p><p>            The way back was much different. Lubbock was completely silent now, probably having run out of things to say. It was also likely that he was mentally mapping out a route back to base to ensure that they didn’t take the same path twice. He was probably very concentrated, so Tatsumi felt bad for interrupting him. He watched and waited for any opening in his behavior that might indicate he was ready to talk about something. After a while, Lubbock relaxed a bit, and Tatsumi realized he’d need to broach the topic somehow.</p><p>            As they walked along, Lubbock kept his hands behind his neck and was humming something to himself. Tatsumi chewed on his lip as he thought over a way to broach the topic. There was no way to ask such a question without sounding like he disliked  Lubbock’s behavior. He didn’t want it to sound that way—he was just genuinely curious. Every question he thought up in his head sounded like a judgement on his comrade’s character. He couldn’t just blurt something out and expect him not to take offense to it. Fortunately for him, the growing silence caused Lubbock to start a conversation first.</p><p>            “So, what’s up with you and Mine?” he asked, grinning in a jesting manner.</p><p>            Tatsumi felt heat flood into his cheeks. It certainly wasn’t the conversation he’d been hoping for. He waved his hands dismissively. Where had Lubbock even pulled that conversation starter? He felt incredibly embarrassed now. How was he could to start his own questioning when he was this flustered over something simple Lubbock had asked? He tried his best to clear his throat and keep his cool.</p><p>            “N-nothing!” he stammered. “Wh-why do you ask?”</p><p>            Lubbock shrugged, giving him a sideways glance.</p><p>            “Oh, you know,” he said, as if Tatsumi knew why he’d asked.</p><p>            The grin turned into a knowing smirk. He wrapped one arm around Tatsumi’s shoulders and poked him a few times with the other hand, chuckling the whole time. It was this sort of behavior that made Tatsumi wonder if he was just nervous. That nervousness turned into a playful, joking attitude that he showed to all of his teammates. Tatsumi frowned at Lubbock. The only way he’d know for sure was to ask. He sighed.</p><p>            “Why do you do that?” he asked.</p><p>            Lubbock stopped poking at him and blinked at him, clearly confused.</p><p>            “Why do I do what?” he asked.</p><p>            Tatsumi realized all too late that his question had been rather vague. He’d asked Lubbock that when he’d been smiling, holding Tatsumi close, and poking at him. It could be any one of those things. But he’d meant for the question to be more broad than that. He supposed he’d have to clarify, now that the question was out in the open. He straightened up and waved his hands about as he tried to form it best without being accidentally insulting.</p><p>            “You goof around and joke around a lot,” he said. “N-not that it’s a problem! I just…I just was wondering why you’re so quick to goof off. You tend to do it a lot, but it’s not so obvious why you do it.”</p><p>            Lubbock let go of Tatsumi and hummed. He placed one hand on his chin and the other under his elbow to support that arm. He appeared to be thinking rather hard about it from the expression on his face—no, wait, he was totally pulling his leg here. Tatsumi found himself choking as soon as he realized that Lubbock wasn’t seriously having to think about the answer to the question. He already knew what he was going to say.</p><p>            “Say, Tatsumi,” he said. “Why do you act the way you do around Mine?”</p><p>            Once more, he felt his cheeks filling with heat. He was diverting! This wasn’t the point of asking the question at all. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Lubbock a pointed glare. He was going to get his answer now that he’d asked. There would be no skipping around the question to avoid answering it. Not on his watch.</p><p>            “Don’t change the subject!” he spluttered.</p><p>            Lubbock chuckled.</p><p>            “Touchy much?” he teased. “No, I promise I’m on topic, so long as you’re willing to admit that you have a thing for Mine.”</p><p>            Tatsumi gritted his teeth for a moment. He didn’t want to admit anything at the moment. That would only leave him open to more teasing. But, if it got him the answer to his question, he’d just have to suck it up. This was a battle of wills, he supposed. He’d just have to suffer through the admission and hope that it led him to what he wanted to hear.</p><p>            “Alright, alright,” he said. “Yes, I have a thing for Mine! And I don’t know…I feel like I want to…”</p><p>            He trailed off. This was something he had to think about, even if it came easily to Lubbock. This felt like a completely different topic still. How did he act around Mine? It was a complicated question. He hadn’t presumed he’d acted any differently, but since Lubbock had picked up on his crush, he was obviously doing something different when he was around her. He thought long and hard about what stood out about his behavior when he was around her versus when he was around others.</p><p>            “You want to what?” Lubbock prodded.</p><p>            Tatsumi looked over at him and sighed. He had his answer now. He just hoped that it didn’t sound silly when he said it out loud.</p><p>            “I suppose I want to look stronger and more capable when I’m around her,” he said. “I want to let her know that I’m strong, too. She doesn’t have to worry about me dying, because I’ve gotten stronger and can fight by her side.”</p><p>            Lubbock whistled.</p><p>            “Wow, talk about wanting to be a showoff,” he said.</p><p>            Knitting his brow, Tatsumi gave Lubbock a frustrated glare as he tried to keep his cool. That hadn’t been the response he’d expected at all. While he tried not to draw attention to them, Lubbock just laughed. He clearly didn’t feel threatened enough to take back his teasing. He just carried on with the conversation as if there had been no interruptions.</p><p>            “So, you know why you act the way you do around the girl you love,” he said. “It’s fairly simple. There’s your answer.”<br/>            Tatsumi huffed, but he nodded his head in agreement.</p><p>            “Yes, but I still don’t see what this has to do with you always goofing off,” he said. “I don’t know where you’re going with this at all. You’re talking about me and Mine just to get me to admit I have a thing for her, aren’t you?”</p><p>            Lubbock chuckled. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, like an older brother sighing over the naivety of the younger one. His expression remained a teasing one, meant to rile Tatsumi up just a little bit.</p><p>            “Isn’t it obvious where I’m going with it?” he said, flashing Tatsumi another grin. “The connection should be pretty clear by now, I’d think. Should I let you have three guesses?”</p><p>            Irritated, Tatsumi just waved him off. He didn’t want guesses, he wanted Lubbock to be straightforward with him. Honestly, how hard was it to just answer a question? He was acting a fool, as usual. This was all a part of the bit, he told himself. Lubbock was messing with him on purpose. It was just how he was. While he waited for a reason for this behavior, he had to put up with it being a part of the answer.</p><p>            “I wish you’d just be straightforward with me,” he said, trying not to sound too much like he was pouting.</p><p>            Lubbock stopped in his tracks and stared over at their little base. From where they were standing, they could see a few of the other team members going about their business. Leone and Mine were arguing about something, and Mine was rather red in the face. Behind them, Najenda was laughing as they bickered. Tatsumi frowned and looked up at Lubbock. There was a gentle smile on his face as he watched them. Blinking, Tatsumi glanced between the girls in the window and Lubbock as he gazed at them.</p><p>            “Is it…maybe…?” he said, trailing off.</p><p>            His partner let out a partial laugh.</p><p>            “You want to have Mine know you’re strong,” he said. “That’s the form your love takes for her. You want her to know you’re safe and capable, so she doesn’t have to worry about you. But for me, I act up and goof around for one reason and one reason only.”</p><p>            He nodded over at the window, indicating Najenda as she laughed.</p><p>            “I just want to see her smile.”</p><p>            And just like that, Tatsumi found the clear answer he’d been looking for through this whole conversation. Where Leone’s positive, carefree personality stemmed from her desire to see the team’s spirits lifted, Lubbock’s reasoning was much more personal and filled with a different kind of love. Tatsumi smiled at his partner and nodded his head. Nothing more needed to be said. He finally understood.</p><p>            <em>I hope you grow closer someday, Lubb</em>, he thought. <em>You definitely deserve to see that smile made just for you.</em></p><p>            As the two nodded their heads, silently agreeing not to let this conversation reach another’s ears, they both felt as if they understood one another just a bit better. Never again would Tatsumi have to wonder about that joking personality. He had his answer.</p><p>            And it was certainly a good one.  </p>
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